LANG, Kenneth R(obert) 1941–

PERSONAL: Born November 16, 1941; son of Robert Raymond and Clara (Barnes) Lang; married Marcella Greco; children: Marina, Julia, David. Education: University of Colorado, B.S.; Stanford University, Ph.D.

ADDRESSES: Office—Department of Physics and Astronomy, Robinson Hall, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Tufts University, Medford, MA, professor of physics and astronomy, 1974—National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC, senior scientist, 1990–92.

MEMBER: International Astronomy Union, Royal Astronomy Society, American Astronomy Society.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fulbright fellow in Italy; Danforth fellowship; California Institute of Technology, fellow, 1972–73.

WRITINGS:

Astrophysical Formulae: A Compendium for the Physicist and Astrophysicist, Springer-Verlag (New York, NY), 1974.

(Editor, with Owen Gingerich) A Source Book in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 1900–1975, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 1979.

Wanderers in Space: Exploration and Discovery in the Solar System, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1991.

Astrophysical Data: Planets and Stars, Springer-Verlag (New York, NY), 1992.

Sun, Earth, and Sky, Springer-Verlag (New York, NY), 1995.

The Sun from Space, Springer (New York, NY), 2000.

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Sun, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 2001.

The Cambridge Guide to the Solar System, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: A prominent astronomer and educator, Kenneth R. Lang is the author of a number of encyclopedic works on the solar system and the greater universe, as well as of several highly specialized treatments of scientific formulae for experts in the field. Astrophysical Data: Planets and Stars, for instance, compiles rare tables containing data about globular clusters and emission nebulae, as well as tables on the physical characteristics of known planets and the magnitudes and distances of stars. Astronomy contributor Dave Bruning was disappointed by some major errors in these star charts, but concluded that the hard-to-find tables "alone are worth the price of this book," although he cautioned buyers to locate a corrected edition.

More appealing to the amateur astronomer is Lang's The Sun from Space, which "presents a lucid and coherent view of the perspectives opened up over the past decade by three spacecraft," in the words of Science contributor J. R. Jokipii. After a short introduction discussing the scientific nature of the sun, Lang focuses on the three unmanned spacecraft which were sent to examine phenomena such as sunspots and solar wind in the 1990s. These explorations have dramatically enhanced man's understanding of the star that dominates Earth, and Jokipii concluded, "I can recommend The Sun from Space to anyone interested in a coherent and accurate account of the recent advances in our understanding of the Sun and the many ways in which it affects our lives."

Lang expanded his studies of this heavenly body in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Sun. "Well conceived and brilliantly executed," according to Craig DeForest in Astronomy, "Lang's work has a flair and beauty that make it an excellent coffee-table book or gift book. But the attention to detail and clear explanations also make it a well-rounded coursebook for professors teaching solar physics." Lang covers the magnetic atmosphere of the sun, the mysterious solar interior, the influence of solar wind, and numerous other phenomena while drawing on a minimum of equations and an extensive index which allows scientists and laypeople alike to explore a range of topics. He also discusses the various instruments scientists use to gather data on the familiar stellar body.

In The Cambridge Guide to the Solar System Lang provides a similar treatment for the planets orbiting the Sun. A "cross between an encyclopedia and an introductory textbook," in the words of Library Journal reviewer Barbarly Korper McConnell, the book discusses both historical and scientific information concerning the Sun, the planets that orbit it, and the moons that orbit those planets, as well as the comets and asteroids that travel throughout the solar system. For a Booklist contributor, "The photographs are stunning, the numerous charts and graphs are exemplary, and the narrative is bulging with all the important information about the solar system that is available to date."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Astronomy, February, 1993, Dave Brunning, review of Astrophysical Data: Planets and Stars, p. 95; March, 2002, Craig DeForest, review of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Sun, p. 89.

Booklist, December 15, 2001, review of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Sun, p. 748; May 15, 2004, review of The Cambridge Guide to the Solar System, p. 1652.

Library Journal, April 1, 2004, Barbara Korper McConnell, review of The Cambridge Guide to the Solar System, p. 86.

Publishers Weekly, June 25, 2001, review of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Sun, p. 60.

Science, April 27, 2001, J. R. Jokipii, review of The Sun from Space, p. 645.